Rossen Milanov - The Philadelphia Orchestra, Associate Conductor

Photo Credit: Ed Wheeler

Rossen Milanov currently holds the positions of associate conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra and artistic director of The Philadelphia Orchestra at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, he serves as music director of both New Jersey’s Symphony in C (formerly the Haddonfield Symphony) and the New Symphony Orchestra in his native city of Sofia, Bulgaria, and chief conductor of the Bulgarian National Radio Symphony.

During the 2008-09 season Mr. Milanov debuts with the Swedish Royal Opera, the New Jersey Symphony, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Singapore Symphony, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the San Antonio Symphony, and the Charlotte Symphony. He also makes return engagements with the Seattle Symphony, the Seoul Philharmonic, and the National Orchestra of Mexico.

Mr. Milanov’s recent highlights include guest conducting appearances with Tokyo’s NHK Symphony, the BBC Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Also an active opera conductor, Mr. Milanov has conducted numerous productions.

Mr. Milanov has led concerts and tours with the Rotterdam and Seoul philharmonics; the Baltimore, Colorado, Honolulu, and Lucerne symphonies; the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; the Civic Orchestra of Chicago; the Residentie Orchestra of the Hague in the Netherlands; and the Teatro Colón Buenos Aires. He was music director of the Chicago Youth Symphony from 1997 to 2001, and he has participated in numerous summer festivals, including Aspen, Grand Teton, and Tanglewood.

Mr. Milanov retains a close association with his hometown of Sofia. As music director of the New Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Europe’s first privately funded orchestra, his work has included commissions and premieres of new works and the introduction of American music to Bulgarian audiences. Mr. Milanov has received the Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Bulgarian Culture, awarded by the Bulgarian Ministry of Culture. In 2005 he was chosen as Bulgaria’s Musician of the Year.

Mr. Milanov studied conducting at the Juilliard School (recipient of the Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship), the Curtis Institute of Music, Duquesne University, and the Bulgarian National Academy of Music.